Candy Cane Lane decks the halls

Candy Cane Lane in West Allis is now in its 27th year. The tradition began when a neighborhood boy was diagnosed with cancer. More than 300 homes typically participate in the holiday lights show. Published Nov. 28, 2012 at 9:02 a.m.

These days, the world can sometimes seem pretty cynical about Christmas. Rampant commercialization, the bitter "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" debate and the tangled web of ideology behind it the list of humbugs goes on and on.

But, the spirit of Christmas cheer and holiday giving is alive and well in a small, close-knit neighborhood in West Allis, known for a month out of each year as Candy Cane Lane.

Now in its 27th year, Candy Cane Lane was born when a local resident, Jeremy Kline, was diagnosed at a young age with brain cancer. His neighbors rallied behind him to collect donations for the MACC Fund from passers-by coming to see the Christmas decorations.

"The next year they started talking to the neighbors, saying, 'Let's decorate. Let's start inviting people,'" said MACC Fund Development Officer Colleen Moran.

Now almost 30 years and $1.6 million later, Candy Cane Lane is a Milwaukee-area holiday tradition that features almost 300 decked-out homes. Running east and west from 92nd to 96th Streets and north and south from Oklahoma Avenue to Montana Street, the neighborhood raises around $100,000 annually for the MACC Fund at the official collection point on the corner of 95th and Manitoba Streets.

Local resident Ken Perkl is especially proud of the $103,000 raised last year. As a member of the seven-person committee who took over the running of Candy Cane Lane a few years ago from longtime coordinator Ron Ziolecki, Perkl puts in countless hours every Christmas season manning the collection point and handing out candy to spectators.

He is assisted by his fellow committee members, including volunteer coordinator Joy Geyer, local resident Dan Mass and Mass' grandmother, Pat Wolfe, at whose house the committee meets and who has lived in the neighborhood since the first days of Candy Cane Lane.

In addition to the hours spent standing in the cold collecting money and spreading Christmas cheer, Perkl says he spends anywhere from six to seven hours on his elaborate decorations, which include a tableau of reindeer taking flight and a railroad crossing.

So what's the payoff for all this hard work? When asked, Perkl put a hand to his heart.

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Candy Cane Lane decks the halls